Living in Harmony Community Grants 1999

New South Wales

Building 'ONE in ALL and ALL in ONE' Community

$40,000 Awarded

This project, now completed, aimed to:

promote social harmony, cultural understanding and racial tolerance
reduce social boundaries among the communities of Chinese, Vietnamese, Arabic, Korean and Anglo-Celtic background in Sydney’s West and South West regions
build an environment where these communities could comfortably come together in Fairfield to share and exchange "aspirations, fears and the joys" of living in a new country
reduce prejudice and break down racial stereotypes among the target groups
encourage the diverse groups to have greater respect for each others’ contributions to Australia.

The project:

liaised and networked with other community groups - Arabic, Vietnamese, Kosovar, East Timorese
recruited volunteers to participate in workshops for arts, cultural, leisure and other lifestyle activities, such as:

photography competition What does Living in Harmony mean to you?
Moon Festival Lantern Creative Day
introduction to Chinese culture and craft – How to make Chinese knots (ie intricate banner-like hangings with significant cultural symbolism)
Living in Harmony Cultural Exchange day, including "Harmony" play
writing and drawing competition – What do you like about living in Australia with other cultures?
traditional Chinese dance classes

compiled and documented cross-cultural activities for cross-cultural programs, such as the Pleasure in Cabramatta series of activities
produced, as useful resource materials for running cross-cultural interest groups and programs:

The project:

held many well attended cross-cultural workshops
made good links with the Lebanese community
achieved very extensive media coverage in local and Chinese press, and SBS
helped participants learn more about other traditions and values
successfully bridged some of the gaps between local cultures and expanded social relationships